Chrome

Superbrands are products that are not just dominant in a region or nation, but are relevant world wide. These products can be found on shelves in nations that are openly at war with each, and most superbrands are associated with a megacorporation. Chrome was initially a beverage company that quickly branched out into other industries, fueled by it's impressive revenues selling energy cocktails and other high end beverages.

There are few things as iconic in the Cosmic era as the common sight of the silver Chrome can. Composed of semi-rigid bioplastic, the can does a very good job of imitating aluminum. The standard Chrome formula is an enriched caffeine extract with synthetic stimulants and enzymes. The beverage is strongly associated with working class people, and with professional computer users. Chrome and Matsutomo teamed up to create the Matsu-Chrome Race team that has gone on to dominate a-pod racing for several years, especially in the vaunted F-Prime series. The Silver a-pod car is commonly seen in advertisements, and generally only the best drivers end up behind it's controls.

Chrome AAA

Chrome comes in varieties, and one of the most popular is Chrome AAA. This is largely the same flavor profile as standard Chrome but it is distinguished by its pink translucent color and the addition of the chemical stimulant adrenochrome. Drinking AAA causes a swift rise in body temperature, a euphoric state, and a feeling of spirituality. Triple A is most commonly consumed by young adults, entertainers in the club scene, and is strongly associated with the porn and sex industry.

A large percentage of the pornography and HoloPorns created in the Atlantic Federation are either directly created, or receive funding from Chrome, specifically the pink Triple A superbrand. Chrome AAA isn't the only sexually minded energy drink on the market, but it has the largest advertising department and dominance in the media realm.

A popular concoction made from Chrome AAA involves mixing Chrome AAA with an alcoholic substance and a effervescent hormone contraceptive. The most common name of this drink if the DTF, an acronym that is a reference to being ready and willing to copulate with someone of the opposite gender. The shot is generally effective as both a contraceptive and as an aphrodisiac.

Chrome Spice

Chrome Spice is the dark edgy cousin of the slutty Chrome AAA and pedestrian Chrome classic formula. Spice differs greatly from the standard taste profile, and it tastes differently to each person who tries it. The compounds mixed with the standard caffeines and synthetic caffeines and stimulants have no actual flavor themselves, but instead cause the brain to randomly create flavor profiles. No two cans taste the same. Spice plays with this by having their cans covered with fractal patterns and holographic images that change from moment to moment. Most of the taste profiles have a spicy or sharp flavor, hence the name of the beverage.

Chrome Spice is a mind altering beverage, and can expand sensory perceptions. Where the drinker of classic needs a pick me up and the AAA drinker is looking for sex, the Spice drinker is wanting to speed up their senses, expand the consciousness. This is commonly used by musicians and artists, computer users and cyber hackers wanting every edge they can get in the virtual realm. Spice routinely sponsors online and CogNet events, and the silver and matte orange Chrome Spice logo is well known online.

Chrome Spice also has an unsavory side, it is commonly consumed moments before criminal activities, causing the drinker to become hyper-aware and feeling like they are full of knives and violence, ready to fight or cause chaos.

Chrome +

Sometimes called a Medic in a Can, Chrome + is a mixture of energy drink and fast acting pain killers. Plus is found in small red and white cans, usually small and condensed enough to be knocked back with a single shot. The original use of Plus was for countering the pain that could come from a long night of hard partying. The beverage quickly became a popular pick me up for the working class. A can of Plus after work took the edge off and they were quickly relaxing without energy drink jitters, or the physical ache from a hard day.

Chrome Plus is a very popular beverage, and is the second best seller, behind it's classic formula. It is also seen as the drink of old people, or a quick fix for more hardcore drug users unable to get a dose of their drug of choice.

Chrome Bars

There are bars and kiosks that serve nothing but Chrome, and Chrome cocktails. These locations tend to be on the seedy side, patronized by the lower stratas of society. It isn't uncommon for these dives to serve beer and hard liquor, but these beverages usually take a back seat to the gaudy displays hawking Chrome. Many Chrome Bars are modular in nature, so that a Chrome Bar in Neo Tokyo, Paris, Johannesburg or Sao Paolo will all look the same, aside from linguistic differences and the ethnicities of the partially or completely naked models in the adverts.

Authors note: Chrome is a take on moloko from A Clockwork Orange. Rather than mixing drugs with milk (so gross) the future will be mixing drugs with energy drinks. The companies that excel will have large amounts of money, with the best modern example being rather obviously Red Bull.

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Why yes, I can totally see this happening in any non-apocalyptic future. Energy drinks are one of those unique expressions of modern society that nobody really saw coming, but have completely ingrained themselves into our collective psyche. Any near-future sci-fi without the equivalent is missing an important supporting piece of flavor.

Very nicely done! I can't think of a single thing that I'd like improved on this submission, which means it gets one of my rare 5's.

Holy crap! The modern equivalent of "health potions!" Hell, I could snip the company wholesale from the setting and add it to any near-future, quasi-apocalyptic game I can imagine and strew a bunch of "Chrome +" cans around as rewards for making it to the safehouse. Nicely done.

This is great each one of these could be sub in and of itself, and you really paint a picture of how the every day joe interacts with chrome and its brands. As roleplaying or story telling tool once you have these laid out for the player/reader you could use these to put a mood on a person or place.

Regions

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Minor Cultural Modifier: The culture believes, for the soul to leave the body, the corpse' eyes must be open. So any member of that culture takes care any dead body they find has its eyes open. Doubly true for those they kill themselves, for then the corpse will surely rise as an undead hunting him.